Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Opole, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Opole and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Opole
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Opole:
- 45.746385, -94.368943
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Opole
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Stearns County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Stearns County
- Since Opole is near Morrison County and also Benton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Morrison County
- eBird sighting report for Benton County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Opole ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Bowlus
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlus
- Bowlus is located in Morrison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowlus <1>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bowlus
- From Opole to Bowlus
- Collegeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
- Collegeville is located in Stearns County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collegeville <1>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Collegeville
- From Opole to Collegeville
- Elmdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elmdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Elmdale is located in Morrison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Elmdale
- From Opole to Elmdale
- Evergreen Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
- Evergreen Village is located in Stearns County
- Five Points
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Stearns County
- Gregory
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Holdingford
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holdingford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holdingford
- Holdingford is located in Stearns County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holdingford <1>
- Mayhew
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Rice
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Rice is located in Benton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,401 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rice <1>
How Far From Opole to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Opole to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Opole and extending to:
- Saint Cloud, which is the Seat of Stearns County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Opole to Saint Cloud, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 82 miles [132 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,000 miles [1,609.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,975 miles [11,225.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,892 miles [7,872.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Opole. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Stearns County: www.co.stearns.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Opole) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Opole. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7464, Longitude: -94.3689 In this case, the coordinates for Opole have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <6> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Opole to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.083 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.157 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.047 degrees. |